"Drawing by Chairs"

C-print (Thermography)

An armchair is moved in a concrete and real room. The thermal track creating an abstract image is captured. Reusse asks the general question regarding the importance of concrete and abstract.

The „Thermovisions” are created by combining photography and thermography. The two processes are analogous: while the camera records light waves, the thermograph registers heat differences. The apparatus consists of a heat sensor connected to a computer. This converts the sensor data into an image that can be seen on the computer screen. Reusse photographs the screen picture with a camera to obtain a negative from which his cibachromes can be printed. Forms with low temperatures appear on the screen in bluish colours, while high temperatures result in a range of colours from orange to white. An object does not necessarily have to be present for the thermograph to produce an image. It is sufficient if something has created an aura of heat. And this also applies to phenomena that are invisible by nature such as breath or a fart.
Photo historians will thus classify most of the „Thermovisions” as „phantom pictures”, while art historians will probably see them as a form of “Spurensicherung” [. . .].

http://www.stephanreusse.com
(Prof. Gottfried Jäger, in: Die Kunst der Abstrakten Fotografie)